As the Portland Trail Blazers reached the midway point of the exhibition season, they carried a mix of welcomed and unwelcomed injury news.
On the one hand, two pieces of the rotation — Rob Williams III and Matisse Thybulle — have started to increase their basketball activity after missing training camp, and seem to be trending in the right direction. On the other hand, starting forward Toumani Camara did not practice Monday because of knee soreness and his status for Tuesday’s exhibition matchup against the Golden State Warriors is unclear.
Camara has started both of the Blazers’ games so far this exhibition season, playing roughly 34 minutes against the Warriors and Sacramento Kings. But after playing 14:01 Friday night against the Kings, Camara was spotted in the second quarter on the Blazers’ bench sporting a wrap around his right knee. He did not return in the second half.
Coach Chauncey Billups said afterward that Camara’s knee “was a little sore,” a message he reiterated Monday.
“Tou didn’t do anything today,” Billups said. “He’s still a little sore.”
His playing status for Tuesday’s game against the Warriors is uncertain, but when asked if the team would consider sitting Camara for the rest of the exhibition season, Billups balked.
“No, I don’t anticipate that,” Billups said. “When he’s ready to go … if he can play, I want him to play.”
Camara, of course, is a vital piece of the Blazers’ roster and, in many ways, his versatility and imposing defensive presence have helped shape the team’s identity. Insiders also say he’s shown growth on offense, which seemed to be true against the Warriors last week, when he scored 14 points and made four three-pointers in 20 minutes. He’s averaging 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in roughly two halves of work this exhibition season.
Thybulle and Williams, meanwhile, have been sidelined throughout training camp and have yet to be cleared to compete in five-on-five scrimmages.
But there was a welcomed sight Monday: Both players went through halfcourt work following the Blazers’ practice.
For Williams, the extended absence was expected. He is easing back after missing all but 26 games the last two seasons with knee and hamstring injuries, and the Blazers are purposefully taking it slow to ensure he’s fully healed — and in exceptional basketball shape — before he returns. His absence is due to a “return to competition reconditioning,” according to the team. At media day, Williams was elusive about when that reconditioning would be complete, saying the Blazers’ performance and training staff had identified a return date, while refusing to divulge it. The most detail Williams offered was that he was “not too far off.”
He has not been made available for interviews during camp. The same goes for Thybulle, who declined a pregame interview Friday because, he said, he was heading to chapel.
During his media day availability, Thybulle did not intimate that he was injured. In fact, he suggested the opposite, saying that — after missing all but the final 15 games last season with right knee soreness and a gnarly sprained ankle — he was excited to be healthy again.
“Selfishly, that I get to play,” he said, when asked what excited him the most heading into the season. “I missed so much time last year. Just to be healthy and get on the court.”
Thybulle said he was forced to “pace” himself during the offseason and “slow down a bit, which ”wasn’t that easy.” So it’s unclear if he encountered knee soreness during voluntary workouts in the September or some other time, or, like Williams, is just easing back into basketball activities after missing most of last season.
Regardless, it appears his pace is increasing this week.
“He’s doing good,” Billups said of Thybulle. “He’s ramping up. He’s starting to do more and more. I don’t, obviously, have a timeline. But on the court, he’s starting to do more and more. Him and Rob, to be honest. So I’ve been kind of happy with where they are. I hate that they missed most of camp, but I’m cool with where they’re at.”
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